20 April 2009

I went to the Thames this morning. On my way there I heard a familiar sound I had not heard for a little while, lifted my head and saw a peregrine, probably a female, being harassed by a mob of crows. I unfortunately lost them behind buildings but I guess they chased it away.
Tide was going up and the shore was empty at Hammersmith Bridge apart from a few pigeons, and something I had never seen before: a magpie, collecting algae and mud, I guess as nesting material. I also saw a few more birds, fortunately, between there and Crabtree Wharf:

• mallard: 16
  
• Canada goose: 3 + 2 flying over
  
• lesser black-backed gull: a pair
  
• black headed gull:2
  
• herring gull: about 7 of various ages
  
• house martin: just the one
  
• coot; 2
  
• moorhen: 2
  
• tufted duck: 8 males and 8 females
  
• great crested grebe: 1 fishing, quite close to the path
  
• house sparrow: at least 2 in the usual bush
  
• parakeet: a pair being intimate on the pontoon
  
• starling: one had twigs in its beak
  

19 April 2009

I went to the Thames this morning. On my way there I heard a familiar sound, lifted my head and saw a peregrine, probably a female, being harassed by a mob of crows. I unfortunately lost them behind buildings but I guess they chased it away.
Tide was going up and the shore was empty at Hammersmith Bridge apart from a few pigeons, and something I had never seen before: a magpie, collecting algae and mud, I guess as nesting material. I also saw a few more birds, fortunately, between there and Crabtree Wharf:

• mallard: 16
  
• Canada goose: 3 + 2 flying over
  
• lesser black-backed gull: a pair
  
• black headed gull:2
  
• herring gull: about 7 of various ages
  
• house martin: just the one
  
• coot; 2
  
• moorhen: 2
  
• tufted duck: 8 males and 8 females
  
• great crested grebe: 1 fishing, quite close to the path
  
• house sparrow: at least 2 in the usual bush
  
• parakeet: a pair being intimate on the pontoon
  
• starling: one had twigs in its beak
  

16 April 2009

The Canada geese are still nesting on the pontoon by the supermarket. There was also a singing pied wagtail, a pair of dunnocks picking up crumbs on the path (a lot of people appear to be eating their lunch on the benches there), a moorhen and at least 3 house sparrows.

10 April 2009

I needed some fresh air so I went out mid afternoon towards the Thames. Plus the tide was high and the cloud cover low, so I was hoping for either tern or hirundines to get my patch list going again, but I got a bit more than I bargained for.. .As I was walking past Hammersmith Embankment, I noticed a big plume of smoke coming from Hammersmith Broadway. Still, I continued but decided to go towards Hammersmith Bridge instead than Crabtree Wharf. Shortly afterwards, I finally spotted #52 for this year, with 3 housemartins quite low above Hammersmith Embankment and the river. Which means that I have now reached last year's total ;)

I then detoured via Hammersmith Broadway and found out the top of the building was on fire. What amused me was that some pigeons were still on top of the building, maybe 20m from the smoke, and still very busy with courtship displays...

9 April 2009

I did my weekly shopping today, and a coot might have finally explained to me the moorhen behaviour I have been witnessing as one was doing exactly the same thing, but it was occasionally pecking at bits and pieces that were coming its way. It still seemed a lot of effort for not much reward...

A pair of Canada geese have started nesting on the pontoon, in the same spot where they failed last year. We'll how it goes this year...


I also saw my first Egyptian Geese for this year with the pair below. Strangely enough, I used to see them quite regularly on my patch last year, but not this one...

8 April 2009

I passed by the Thames this afternoon while running errands. Tide was full, and guess what? There was a moorhen furiously 'pedalling' against the tide... Fairly few birds otherwise, I had been hoping for some sand- or house-martins, or even a tern to revive my patch list, but no... Nice view however of a kestrel over the river which I picked up in front of Harrods Repository and lost over the Wetland Centre. 2 tufted ducks, 8 mallards, 2 coots, 4 Canada Geese, 1 cormorant, 2 parakeets and a few starlings were the only other birds.

In Margravine cemetery, the magnolia has now lost a lot of its flowers, it's like it has snowed underneath...

6 April 2009

mating parakeets from Nathalie Mahieu on Vimeo.
I have finally put online the clip I took of the parakeets mating on 17 March. I was not expecting it to last this long... so please excuse the wobbliness at times when I got tired of holding the camera.
Since, I have barely seen them, though I can still hear some pass over or settle on other trees.

4 April 2009

I didn't feel like going to the Thames this morning, but I went and spent an hour wandering in Margravine Cemetery in the afternoon. For a while I watched this robin catching worms:

This was happening by the magnolia, the flowers of which have now started to fade:


Then I observed this crow which, after trying to extract marrow from a big bone, started hoovering insects which were hovering right above the grass:



Then I sat by a grave on which I had seen a honey bee yesterday in the hope to take a photo of one. I saw a few bumble bees, hover flies (or at least I think so, my insect id skills are not terribly developed), but no honey bee. So I amused myself taking macro photos of the flowers instead, such as the one above. I'd be interested in those flowers too if I was an insect I think...
Then, as I was almost home, I noticed a lot of insects around one of the bushes in the car park, and, among them, this honey bee (or at least I hope, it's been years since I've seen one):

1 April 2009

I passed by the Thames while running some errands. Tide was very low, some of the lowest I have seen, though it was even lower yesterday as I was walking a dog with a friend,
Still a few birds:

• mallard: 14
  
• gadwall: 16
  
• tufted duck: 20
  
• teal: 2
  
• moorhen
  
• coot: 3
  
• cormorant: 2
  
• black-headed gull: 20-30, mostly 1st years, only one had a black head
  
• lesser black-backed gull: 1 pair
  
• Canada goose: 14, mostly of them resting on the shore (now that the gulls are gone, it's nice and quiet. ;) )
  

I saw 4 (3 males & 1 female) house sparrows in the bush by Crabtree Wharf; I usually only hear them, but today the female, especially, gave me some good views. No colour ring on any of them.